Carol made a detailed post about a Miranda July reading we saw last night, but I thought I would add my two cents, because that’s just what I do.
If you’ve ever seen a reading you know that they can easily put you to sleep or make your mind wander to how you need to sweep out under the bed or check the oil on the car. It usually not the reader’s fault. Listening to someone read is just inherently dull.
Bukowski knew how to give a reading after he hit his stride, but his early readings were just as dull as anyone else’s (see Bukowski at Bellevue for proof of that).
Miranda July knows how to give a reading too. She doesn’t trade drunken insults with the audience or threaten to stab them, ala Bukowski, she just draws you in.
Reading with her head down, rarely looking up, stumbling over some bits – still, you’re there in the story. No outside thoughts creep in. That’s not an easy thing to accomplish. Try it sometime. Read something you wrote, or anything for that matter, out loud for 30 or 40 minutes. You’ll probably bore yourself.
I had already read the book (NO ONE BELONGS HERE MORE THAN YOU) and I had to stand through the whole thing, and I still thought it was an excellent reading, so there you go.
Anyway, July gets my vote for Web2.0 Site Of The Year for her site for the book.